Julian wins the Scottish

Julian Lailey finished in first place at the Scottish Championships held today, almost 9 minutes clear of the next M65. Added to earlier wins in the Midland, Southern and Northern Champs, not to mention the Bigland Middle race last weekend, this puts Julian firmly in the top M65 spot in the Masters Cup 2011 but with 5 more events still to come.

Last call for the Harvester relay

Our Club Captain has received sufficient interest to enter a team in the Harvesters on 16th/17th July, but there is still a chance for anyone else to sign up, giving a possibility of two teams. More details are in this earlier post. Please contact Mark as soon as possible to be included. There is ample time to take in the Club Picnic before travelling to Sheffield for the relay.

Sprint Series league table

Scores for the first event in the series have now been tabulated here. Points are awarded on overall placings as follows: 1st 60, 2nd 55, 3rd 51, 4th 48, 5th 46, 6th 45 then 44, 43, 42 etc. There are six age classes for the series: Men and Women Open, M&W Junior (14-) and M&W Vet (55+).

Summer Sprint Series off to a great start!

Mike Ormerod provided some testing courses at this evening's sprint event around the fascinating Clitheroe Castle and adjoining town centre. Competitors all ran the 1.3 km Prologue, the results from which determining the start order in the gaffled Final (2.3 km), held very soon after the last person had finished the Prologue. This event is the first in a series of six over the next few weeks. Points are scored in each event and the best four count for the overall series prizes. Results may be viewed for the Prologue, Final and Overall. Series points, RouteGadget and other splits analysis will follow soon.

Hill walking and navigation challenge

The Bowland Challenge is a team competition based on hill walking and navigation held entirely within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Whether training for a Mountain marathon or just out for a good days walk, the Bowland Challenge is ideal for you. This event is to help support the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team, and is in essence a 10 hour score for teams of 2-6 people, taking place 15th -17th July 2011. Full details at www.bowlandchallenge.co.uk

Race for Life sponsorship

Sarah Watkins is raising money for Cancer Research UK by running the Race for Life (5km) in Blackburn on 8 June and she'd really appreciate your support. You can make a donation via her page: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/sarahwatkins0202. It's easy, fast and totally secure.

First event in the Summer Sprints Series just one week away!

Don't miss the chance to run on Mike Ormerod's new map of Clitheroe Castle Fields and town centre next Tuesday evening. Full details are on the fixture list where you will find a Google map link, or follow these directions. There will be suitable courses for younger juniors and beginners as well as top quality racing for the more experienced. Discounts for entering the whole series!

Shoes and lost property items

Peter Knott reports: Roy Woodcock has passed to me a pair of blue Walsh PB's size 9? or maybe a small 10. Hardly used. Muddy but no wear & tear. He would like them to go to a good home amongst SROC members, preferably someone without a lot of money. (Does not want anything for them).
Also I have two items of long lost property at events which someone could make good use of. 1. A Craft long sleeved light weight base layer top, black, pull-over with short zip neck. Size S. 2. A Light blue, Ron Hill, wind/shower resistant top. good condition. Size? probably medium or a small 'large'. (Cherith thinks they are a lady's) These two are both garments left at past SROC events. It is possible that they might belong to SROC members. Please contact Peter Knott to claim.

SROC success at British Relays

The SROC team of Chris Nash, Matt Nash and John Ockenden came home a full seven minutes clear of second place in the M18 class at the British Relays at Tankersley today. Also Heather Gardner, Katrin Harding and Zoe Harding finished in a well deserved 3rd place in the Women's Premier class. Hearty congratulations to them, and to all the members running for the club today. Full results service at the BOC 2011 website. Photo courtesy Robert Lines.

British Championships medallists

Congratulations to the SROC medallists at today's British Orienteering Championships near Sheffield: Zoe Harding 2nd W18E, Quentin Harding 3rd M45L and Helen Ockenden 3rd W14A. Other top ten finishers: W21E 4th Heather Gardner, M50S 5th Jon Carberry, M65S 5th Philip Gager, W50L 6th Karen Nash, M18E 7th, John Ockenden and W35S 7th Sarah Watkins. See the BOC 2011 website for all results.

Excellent training sessions on Tuesday evenings

A mixed group of adults and juniors has been enjoying the new summer training activities organised by Quentin Harding at Lancaster University, every Tuesday evening from 6.30, except when there is a Summer Sprint event scheduled. The sessions consist of a variety of running drills and games, all quality work aimed at increasing running speed. The evening is completed with the very popular ultimate frisbee match. If you haven't come along to one of these evenings you are missing a fun time. Anyone wondering about ultimate frisbee may wish to read these abridged rules of the game.

Your Chance to Influence the Future Direction of England’s Forests

British Orienteering has joined forces with nine other organisations representing recreational users of England’s forests and woodlands to lobby the Government’s Independent Panel on Forestry Policy. The group wishes to see recreation at the heart of future forestry policy in England and you can demonstrate your support through joining the online campaign by using this link and completing the few questions on the form. From the BO website.

More Beacon Fell photos

Many thanks to Martyn Roome for a further selection of pictures of last Sunday's event a Beacon Fell. Click on the gallery link to view them all.

Not going to the British Relays on Sunday?

PFO event Staghills Woods Sunday 15th May.

Relay Teams for BOC 2011

Club Captain Mark Edwards has announced the teams for next Sunday's British Relay Championships. (Revised Monday 9th May)

Beacon Fell level C event, Sunday 8th May

SROC hosted the Lancashire Scout & Guide Championships at Beacon Fell today, as part of the level C event which was open to all. Results are here. Follow these links for further splits analysis: RouteGadget Splitsbrowser Winsplits On line. There was an opportunity to run a 10km road race at Beacon Fell and follow it with an orienteering run. One who took advantage of this was Dawn Lock (pictured above). More photos in the gallery. Check out your ranking points from this event on the BOF results page. Colour standards are here.

Discount for entering all the Summer Sprints in advance!

With a brand new area and two other new maps, together with a great sprint event format, there is every reason not to miss any of the SROC Summer Sprint races. To help even more we are offering all 6 events for the price of 4, if entered in advance or at the first event on 24th May.

SELOC sprint race 19th June

SELOC are putting on a slightly unusual event in June, offering the possibility of a sprint orienteering race with the option of also participating in a nationally recognised 5K road race. This could be either individually or as part of a team.

British Sprints photos

Thanks to Martyn Roome for some photos of club members taken at the recent British Sprint Championships.